Telework helps BBB group slash office space

Employees of the Council of Better Business Bureaus spend nearly 30% of all their working hours at home, and the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit expects that number to rise to 50% within two years.

The 114-employee organization last year was able to move out of the office building it has occupied since the 1980s and into one about half its size. In the run-up to the move, the group supplied every employee with a laptop equipped with phone and video capability, and some were given the option of working from home.

More than one-third of staff members work more from home than the office, and half telecommute at least one day a week. About 15% work from home full time, and they are not required to live near the D.C. headquarters.

Employees attend biweekly staff meetings via phone or videoconference, and meet in person once or twice a year.

Result: The council expects to save approximately half a million dollars in rent each year.